


Fox Heart

by indianajane



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Fox - Freeform, Funny, Kitsune, Miko - Freeform, Priest, Romance, Smut, original - Freeform, priestess - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-07
Updated: 2013-12-07
Packaged: 2018-01-03 21:55:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1073501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indianajane/pseuds/indianajane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shiranui didn't ask to move from Tokyo to live with her aunt. Didn't ask to live in a big empty house where her aunt usually stays away from. And certainly didn't ask for a dying monk to give her some weird powers so she could banish a demon. But Shiranui's opinion wasn't solicited, and now she has to deal with being in a new city with the powers of a priestess and all the responsibilities to go along with it. Having to perform the responsibilities of a full-fledged priestess while living her teenaged life isn't easy, but maybe with the help of some new friends and a kitsune who won't give her a straight answer, Shiranui will survive. And maybe even find love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fox Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Purely self indulgent work. I wrote this because I got bored, and it's more of just a way for me to relax during finals week. Comments and critiques are appreciated. Yes, I use dialect speech in this. I usually don't, and I understand if you don't like it. However, if you don't like it I don't particularly need a comment about it. Translation for japanese words at the end.

“I hate this place.” Kicking a rock, I let out a sigh. “Can’t believe I had to _move-_ “ Without warning the ground shook under me and I froze.

Didn’t think this part of Japan had frequent earthquakes.

I heard muttering and looked up, seeing a few other people had noticed it too. For a moment I wanted to ask them if this was normal, but then I decided against it. I didn’t really care that much. Just another thing for me to hate about-

Another vibration caught me off guard and I stumbled off the path. “This is such a joke!” Irritated, I reached up to tug on my long pink hair.

By then I’d wandered off the park path, and the bushes near me shaking caught my attention. Pausing, I narrowed my eyes and looked at the leafy foliage.

“…Hello?” I called, not moving. Maybe it was a dog. Usually I liked dogs, but if there were _earthquakes_ here then maybe _rabid dogs_ were another phenomenon.

Still, I took another step forward and saw a foot sticking out of one of the breaks in the foliage. Was that a person? Slowly I took a few more steps forward, until I could clearly see the older, bald man lying in the grass.

And he was bleeding profusely.

“H-hey!” I knelt down beside the man, hands fluttering over him. “Wow you’re-can I do anything to help-“

I broke off when the man grabbed my arm, his eyes opening. “-Demon,” he managed to choke out.

“What?” I blinked, confused.

“You have to-kill it.” He coughed, blood bubbling at his lips. “Demon will-will-“ He took another shuddering breath. “ _Kill_!”Without warning a jolt shot from his hand to mine and the man shuddered, even as everything in my body tingled.

My hair stood on end for a moment before falling around me again, and when I looked at the man again he wasn’t breathing. “Hey.” I touched his chest, but nothing.

“Shit.”

I stood up then, unsure of what to do. Taking a step back, my heel hit something and I tripped, hitting the ground on my ass. The object I’d tripped over was a staff. Or something. It looked like something I’d seen from the movies, with rings on the top and a circular head. Some kind of seal was affixed in the middle of the top, but I couldn’t read whatever it was.

“ _You poor unlucky thing._ ”

The sudden voice made me stiffen and my head jerked so I could look over my shoulder. Something stood there. Something with a vaguely human shape and mask over its face. Its clawed hands were stained and dripping with blood. Their shapes looked oddly able to inflict the kind of wounds that were on the dead man’s chest.

“What-what are you?” I gasped, eyes wide. “God-am I-I’m going crazy-“

“ _You aren’t. Too bad for you. The shisai gave you his powers….stupid old man.”_ The mouth area of the mask split into a fanged grin, and darkness crept toward me. “ _Now I’m going to kill you and eat you for those powers.”_

“Powers?” I scrambled to my feet, backing away from the robed figure. “I don’t have-I’m not-“

 _“Of course you aren’t._ ” The voice was somewhere between a growl and a moan. I hated it. “ _But the fact is…you look tasty.”_ The creature suddenly stopped, and the smile turned into a confused frown. It seemed to be trying to move, but nothing was happening.

“Might wanna pick up his shakujo, miko,” a voice said behind me.

Again I had the unpleasant experience of being blindsided, and when I turned I saw a man sitting by the priest’s body. He was strange as well, with fox-like ears and silver hair.

As I stared at him he looked up, revealing shocking blue eyes and red whisker-like marks on his face. “Not gonna be able ta’ hold her much longer.” His voice was a lazy drawl, and he seemed unworried about the _thing_ coming toward us.

“What is-“

“-Ya really care what she is right now?” He looked pointedly at the staff and I lunged forward, picking it up just as the thing staggered forward again. She was close-too close for me to dodge-and I screamed as I instinctively threw the staff up in front of me.

I was fully expecting to die. I was waiting for the pain, or maybe to wake up from this nightmare. Neither happened. The staff’s tip flashed, and the rings stood on end. The flash of light seemed to hurt the creature, since it stumbled backward with a yowl.

“Impressive indeed. I’d thought ya a goner.”

Getting to my feet once more, I turned to look at the fox with wide eyes. “Help me!” I begged, heart pounding in my chest. “Please-“

“-No. My master’s dead.” He gestured at the old guy before standing up himself and brushing off his white hakama. He wore that and an open kimono with a beaded necklace hanging on his chest. “I might stick around ta’ watch….but that’s all.” He met my eyes with a large grin. “Good luck.” Then, in a flash of blue fire, he was gone.

The monster cackled and I looked at her again, gripping the staff in my hands.

 _“Poor you. Without the fox you’re just a morsel ready for me to eat._ ” Again she bared her teeth and this time I leveled the staff toward her.

“Go away!” I shrieked, waving it in hopes of it flashing again. Nothing happened. She only came toward me and I staggered back, trying to figure out where my life had gone wrong.

Oh right. I’d moved from Tokyo to _here._

The monster gave a quick lunge, faster than I would’ve thought possible, and I gasped, jerking backward and smacking at her with the staff.

She only laughed and pushed it away, tangled hair seeming to curl as I watched. “ _I might not be able to avenge my master by killing the fox, but you will do.”_ She lifted a hand, red sparks appearing around it.

“You’re goin’ ta’ have ta’ do better than waving it around, girl,” a vaguely familiar voice said.

I glanced up to see the fox eared man sitting in a tree, long silver tail waving behind him.

“Help me!” I begged again, eyes going back to the creature in front of me. The wood of the staff was warm under my sweating hands, and seemed to pulse. “Please, I don’t want to die! I need-“

“-I am quite content where I’m at. But I’m tellin’ ya…waving it around won’t do anything. So _stop._ ” I did and he chuckled. “She’s just a low class yokai. She’s tryin’ ta scare ya. Is it working?”

“ _Yes-_ “

“-Well don’t let it. Those sparks are just for show.”

I looked closely and the monster growled. Sure enough the sparks weren’t doing anything.

“My master killed hers. Now banish her back to the _Kuro no Sekai._ ”

“T-the what?”

When he didn’t answer I looked up in the tree again. But he was gone. “Shit.” The demon snarled and I turned my attention to her fully.

“ _Whether or not this is a bluff-“_ She dropped her hand, the red disappearing. “ _I still have more power than a human girl._ ” She strode forward, mouth dripping saliva. “ _I’m going to eat you. Chew the fat off your-“_

“I banish you!” I gasped suddenly, spurred into action by the mental image of getting eaten. The tip of the staff glowed pink and I gripped it tighter. “I-I banish you to the-the kuro…uh…”

“ _Kuro no Sekai_ ,” whispered a voice in my ear helpfully.

“Kuro no Sekai!”

The light brightened, finally making me squint, and the monster screamed. Something rushed down my arms into the staff. My arms shook, then, and a moment later the screaming from the monster had stopped.

When the light cleared, she was gone.

“I did it….” Blinking, I found I’d pulled the staff to my chest and was all but hugging it. Should I put it with the dead guy? When I looked down, he was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey, where’s-“ I turned behind me, expecting the weird fox guy. Instead emptiness met me. Everything seemed _normal._ No blood. No body. No monster…nothing. A few people walked by, giving my staff strange glances.

What the hell was going on?

**Author's Note:**

> shakujo - staff with open ring at the top, and more rings hanging off of that. Used by monks mainly in feudal japan.  
> hakama - loose pants held up with a belt-like sash  
> kuro no sekai - literally black world  
> miko - priestess


End file.
